slavsky



March 31, 1964 R. J. SLAVSKY CHANGEABLE PRICE INDICATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1962 INVENTOR.

' ROBERT J. SLAVSKY BY ATTORNEYS March 31, 1964 R. J. SLAVSKY CHANGEABLE PRICE INDICATORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1962 AS ADVERTISEU INVENTOR ROBERT .1. SLAVSKY TIE; E

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,126,659 CHANfiEABLlE PREQE INDECATGRS Robert E. lavsky, Detroit, Mich assignor to Shaw iz Slavsky, inc, Detroit, Mich. Filed Apr. 6, 1962, er. No. ltliddtl 1 Claim. (tCl. id-=).

This invention relates to changeable price indicators and more particularly, to shelf edge mounted price indicators.

In various types of retail stores, particularly of the supermarket type, it is a common practice to mark specially priced or sales items with a small card affixed to the edge of the shelf upon which the merchandise is placed, to call such merchandise to the attention of the shoppers. Such cards, upon which the prices are marked, are usually secured to the edge of the shelf by adhesive ta e.

Attempts have been made in the past to use a more permanent type of price indicator, wherein the price indicia can be changed to refiect chanegs in prices or items. However, such attempts have failed because the location of the indicators, namely at the edge of the shelf along the shelf aisles, makes it possible for the removable indicia to be accidentally knocked off or to be easily pulled off by children.

Hence, it is an object of this invention to provide a permanent type of price indicator, having interchangeable price indicia, which is particularly adapted for mounting upon the front edge of a merchandise shelf, and wherein the indicia are so mounted as to be enclosed and thereby protected against being accidentally dislodged or tampered with by children.

A further object of this invention is to provide a price indicator in the form of a panel bearing permanently printed messages and having a transparent window portion, with the changeable indicia being mounted at the rear of the window and protected against being easily contacted.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the changeable price indicator mounted upon a shelf edge molding.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the indicator with the shelf being shown in cross-section.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the indicator.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken in the direction of arrows 4-4 of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a View similar to FIG. 4 but showing a raised letter-type of indicium.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the folding of the panel.

FlG. 7 is a front elevational view of the rear sheet which forms part of the panel, and

FIG. 8 is a front elevational View of the front sheet which forms a part of the panel.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the panel, per se.

The indicator herein is formed of a fiat card or panel it) which is mounted upon the forward edge of a shelf 11 upon which merchandise 12 is placed, the shelf having a front edge mounting molding 13 such as of the type illustrated in my Patent No. 2,983,475, of May 9, 1961.

The panel is formed of two, single thickness, fiat, rela- 3,126,659 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 tively thin, rigid sheets of transparent plastic material, namely rear sheet 15 and front sheet 16 (see FIGS. 7-9). The rear face of rear sheet 15 is covered with an opaque coating 17 formed of ink or suitable paint which completely coats the sheet with the exception of an uncovered area which forms a transparent Window portion 18. The front face of the front sheet 16 is provided with permanently printed messages or designs 19 and the two sheets are laminated or bonded together so that the rear face of the front sheet and the front face of the rear sheet are in face to face contact and secured together. With many types of available plastic sheets, the bonding may be accomplished simply by heat and pressure. With other types of commercially available plastic sheeting a suitable adhesive may be required to bond the two sheets together to form the panel.

A fold line 22 divides the two sheets and hence the panel into an upper portion 23 and a bottom portion 24. The bottom portions are provided with uniformly spaced apart, horizontally arranged, slits 25 with the area adjacent the slits being struck out of the plane of the sheets to form tab receiving pockets 26.

When the two sheets are laminated or bonded together, they are then bent along the fold line 22 (see FIG. 6), so that the bottom portion overlies the rear face of the upper portion of the panel. Preformed indicia plates 27 each having top and bottom tabs 28 are arranged upon the bottom portion with the tabsinserted through the slits 25 and fitted within the pockets 26 to secure the plates to the panel.

The indicia plates 27 may be flat as shown in FIG. 4 or may be formed of raised letters 2%, as shown in FIG. 5, as are commonly used for signs and the like.

The indicia plates are originally arranged upside down upon the rear face of the bottom portion 24 so that when the bottom portion is folded upwardly, they show right side up through the window area 18 and are clearly visible from the front face of the panel through the window area 18. The stiffness of the panel causes the bent up bottom portion to remain in substantial parallelism with the upper portion of the card to thereby enclose the indicia between two layers of panel and prevent them from being easily reached or pulled off by children.

The panel is mounted upon the shelf edge molding 13 by means of a wire mounting device 30 preferably of the type shown in my Patent No. 2,983,475, of May 6, 1961, and formed of an elongated thin piece of springy wire having one end bent into an Pvt-shape which is connected by an L-bend 32 to a sinuous bend 33 passing around and held by rivets 34.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I now claim:

A price indicator sign formed of a fiat stiff panel of two registering thin transparent plastic sheets, laminated together, which is capable of withstanding repeated bending on a fold line without breaking; said sign being of V-form, bent on afold line to provide a longer front part and a shorter rear part;

said sign having an inner surface and an outer surface;

the inner surface of the longer front part having an opaque coating at its upper end only with the lower end of such surface being left transparent to form a window;

the front part having indicia on the upper end of the outer surface above the Window and backed by the opaque coating; a price card inside the sign removably and interchangeably mounted in the sign by tabs of the inner surface of the shorter rear part of the sign and visible from the front through the Window; and a spring metal wire bracket in back of the front part of the sign and riveted to the upper end of such front part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Flint Feb. 1, Poirier Sept. 3, Wilson Dec. 31, Warmath Oct. 31, Johnson July 28, Gale June 28, 

